Technology billionaire Larry Ellison will control CBS parent company Paramount Global after Skydance Media buys the Redstone family's stake in the film and TV company, according to a report.
Oracle's co-founder, Paramount's controlling shareholder through a trust and several corporations, will own 77.5% of National Amusements, according to a filing with the US Federal Communications Commission. It was first cited by Bloomberg News on Thursday.,
Skydance CEO and Larry's son David will serve as chairman and CEO of Paramount. He will have operational control of the business, a Skydance spokesperson told Bloomberg.
Skydance Media signed a deal in July to acquire Paramount Global in a complex two-step process, with Larry — who is the fourth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $176 billion, According to Forbes – threw its financial muscle behind the proposal.
The filing said the Ellison family intends to “preserve and enhance the legacy” of the CBS network.
Skydance Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ellison and his partner, RedBird Capital Partners, would purchase National Amusements for $2.4 billion and invest over $6 billion in Paramount to buy its shares and reduce its debt.
Upon completion of the acquisition, RedBird founder Gerry Cardinale will own a 22.5% stake in National Amusements through RB Tentpole LP, a limited partnership, the filing said.
David and his financial partners, including scandal-hit former NBC Universal boss Jeff Shell, have indicated they are trying to get a new law implemented. A $2 billion comprehensive cost-cutting plan following its acquisition by Paramount.
Shell was ousted last year after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with former CNBC anchor Hadley Gamble, who was 16 years his junior. He then joined RedBird and is now set to become chairman of Paramount after the merger.
The decision to sell Paramount Global — which owns stations such as CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV and Comedy Central — brings an end to a decades-long family legacy.
Shari Redstone, the 70-year-old daughter of media tycoon Sumner Redstone, CBS and Viacom's multi-billion dollar merger planned for 2019 and became chairperson of the group – reuniting her father's companies after they were split in 2006.
